Stepping Up – Uncovering Your True Leadership Potential

The sold-out Women of Whistler event at the Four Seasons Resort Whistler on Tuesday, November 27 was a great way to spend the afternoon. Each time I attend a WOW event, I am always amazed at the diverse skills of the women attending and their ability to share their support and knowledge, whether they have known you for years or just met you that day.

Featuring guest speaker Dawn McCooey from the Women's Enterprise Centre, the topic of leadership drew a full crowd of local business women (and one brave man).

Dawn spoke about how to become a better leader by uncovering our leadership gifts. She outlined a very interesting framework of leadership: Pride, Passion, Purpose, Performance and Poise. It all starts with Pride. Think about your proudest moments, she said. These pride stories are the foundation of our leadership. By tapping into our proudest moments, we can fuel our leadership potential.

Our Pride leads us to our Passion. Dawn explained that you don't need to find your passion, it’s already in you. Passion makes everything more interesting. I think everyone can relate to a small task that seems so very enormous if there is no interest in it.

Passion drives our Purpose, or what each person stands for. When you know what you stand for, you can create a compelling vision. The really exciting part is sharing this vision with those on your team, which will inspire them to follow.

Dawn then explained that our Purpose leads to Performance, or where the rubber hits the road. Here is where we identify the most pressing issues in our lives, both personal and professional. But leadership is much more than a to-do list; it is an art that can be learned. We can improve our skills with practice.

This leads to Poise, a state of composure and stability. Good leaders have grace, courage, accountability and especially humility. They will ask for help from others when they need it.

And with all that Poise, it makes sense that it ultimately leads right back to Pride.

Woven through the entire presentation was the idea that your leadership style should align with your personality. In other words, you can be yourself and not some preconceived notion or memory from your past.

I was also fortunate to attend the workshop following the event, where Dawn spoke about the realities of effective leaders and stories were shared from some very inspirational members of the community.